Some friends are having a baby soon, and I got inspired when I heard that they were expecting. I haven’t made a quilt before, but I thought – why not? I have solid sewing skills and it was a fun challenge to learn techniques specifically associated with quilting. In typical me fashion, I made up a pattern and jumped right in.
I picked out some fabrics that I thought would go well together and would suit the jungle theme their nursery already has, and started cutting out squares.
Then I started sewing them together into squares and then pairs and then rows.
(Note: since taking the photo above I have learned that in quilting, you press the seams to one side rather than to both sides like in garment sewing.)
Until finally I had the entire quilt top put together:
I was quite pleased with how well it turned out. Not every seam is exactly perfect, but generally speaking things lined up well.
Then I put together the quilt sandwich, with the backing fabric and batting. I chose to use the dark brown/white polka dot fabric for the backing so that it would not be prone to showing wear/spills/etc. It’s important to me that it actually be usable.
I hand basted it using thread in a contrasting color so it would stay neat and not get any puckers or folds:
I chose to do a very basic stitch-in-the-ditch machine quilting. It worked well and thanks to my careful basting, I didn’t have any folds or other faults:
Then I removed the basting threads and attached the binding by machine-sewing right-side-to-right-side on the front of the quilt. I finished the binding on the back by hand-stitching an invisible stitch.
And here we have the finished product!
I’m just so pleased with it. I’ve presented it to our friends and they like it, too, so to me, that’s success!
Oh my, this is LOVELY! How inspiring of you to take that leap of faith with this as a first project. I love it.
Thanks, Kristi! I’m so proud of it!
There are actually arguments for pressing quilt seams open. I just read a very convincing blog post about that very topic, and I tried it on some blocks that I put together yesterday. The main argument is that the piecing is more precise when you press the seams open, because it’s easier to see how they are supposed to fit together. Pressing to one side is (supposedly) a remnant from the olden days of hand-piecing.
Very interesting, Nanette! I will look around for more info on the topic! I didn’t read about pressing to one side until after it was too late to change for this quilt, and I figured – how bad can it be? I don’t think it had an effect on the finished project, at least to my eyes.
Anne, this is AWESOME! Great job!
Thanks, Liz!
Super job. Very ambitious to design your own quilt for your first project.
Thank you!
I can never seem to leave well enough alone – gotta do it my own way. 
Holy shit, that looks incredible!
Thanks, Heather! I’m so happy with it.
This is wonderful! I love the fabric. Great baby gift.
Thanks, Anne! I was pleased with the fabrics I chose. They weren’t part of a set designed to go together, but I think they do nicely!
Anne, it’s beautiful!! I love that type of design and the fabrics work great together. But most importantly, I can’t believe how well you put it together! Your stitching in the ditch is great, your hand basting is lovely, and your invisible stitch on the binding is invisible! I consider myself a fairly good sewer and I assure you that my backing and batting and top always need trimming to line up together after the quilting. Oh, and I press my seams flat open too.
I’m sure your friends will treasure it always!
Thank you so much, Sarah! I’m so flattered! And that’s neat to know that you sew your seams open, too. My friends report that their daughter loves it already (and that they’re sure their yet-to-be-born son will, too). Hooray!
You are my inspiration. How long did it take you?
Aww, shucks! I’m not sure exactly – I didn’t keep track of how long it took me. It didn’t seem like very long, though. I think that working with large pieces makes it go more quickly.